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For Whom The Hammer Tolls

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For Whom The Hammer Tolls

 

Dreaming of a hammer

A slow arc of deadly intent

A shaper of metal

 

The clang of contact

On a wrought iron anvil

That resonates threat

 

The white-hot sparks

From the red-hot ingot

As it succumbs

 

Weighing its power

In the palm of your hand

With a smack of skin

 

Its dull grey mass

Balanced perfectly

On a shaft of wood

 

Clang! Goes the beat

Clang! It rings out

Clang! It warns

 

It builds a nation

As it strikes down

Onto railroad steel

 

Chiming through the mountains

That succumb to its urgent

Creeping progress

 

It destroys a nation

As it strikes down

On the hungry and oppressed

 

On a warm day

With the sun beating down

On rocks and boulders

 

The punishment

Of the chain gang

On a Georgia road

 

Where crime is the anvil

And justice falls heavily

Like a tempered steel blow

 

It is constructive

It is destructive

It is a righteous hammer

napowrimo2018day 14dreamhammermeaningcreatordestroyer

◄ Unclean

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Comments

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Ian Whiteley

Fri 15th May 2020 14:57

cheers Po - glad you liked it.

Yes - I think 'Bayonet' is probably one of my best - it works both as a poem and a song and the message is much bigger than the picture it seems to paint - I don't know if I've shared the song with you - apologies if I have - but here it is: https://soundcloud.com/the-man-at-the-back-1/the-bayonet-in-the-shed

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